Political Pen Points

Political memoirs are growing in popularity amongst readers, and often top international book charts. Today sees the US release of George W. Bush's political memoir 'Decision Points', published by Crown Publishers, a book that has already caused a great deal of attention around the world. 

Last Month in British GQ, Charlie Brooks asked "Who are political memoirs meant to serve? The people who write them, or the readers who consume them?" An interesting question given the reportedly large sums of money political leaders are allegedly paid once they leave office, some have estimated Bush has earned US$7m from this deal. Are political memoirs a chance to set the record straight, to offer insight or a means to influence history's judgement on a leader's time in office?

An interesting article from Time Magazine gives a run down of the Top 10 political memoirs of our time. What are your views on the list, are there any that they have missed out? And which politician turned writer, past or present, would you love to see us have at the Festival next year?